Acropolis Rally: A classic event as the next test for the Volkswagen Team

Volkswagen Motorsport

Andreas Mikkelsen, Volkswagen Motorsport

Photo by: Volkswagen Motorsport

One of the toughest tests in the FIA World Rally
Championship – the Acropolis Rally – is awaiting the elite
of rally racing next weekend (25–27 May). Gruelling heat and
rocky mountain tracks are posing special challenges to “man
and material” at this classic WRC round that will be held
for the 59th time. This is exactly the ideal terrain for
Volkswagen’s preparation on the road to its WRC entry with
the new Polo R WRC in 2013.

In Greece the factory team will again be gathering
experiences in the WRC process with two Fabia cars of the
Group’s Škoda brand in the less powerful S2000 class. The
driver duos at the event are the Frenchmen Sébastien
Ogier/Julien Ingrassia and the Norwegians Andreas
Mikkelsen/Ola Fløene.

“The Acropolis Rally is another important station in our
preparation for the World Rally Championship with the Polo R
WRC starting in 2013. Greece is one of the toughest events
on the calendar and makes high demands on the technology and
the teams. The experience we’re gathering will be an
advantage for us next year,” says Volkswagen Motorsport
Director Jost Capito. “For me personally, this is the first
WRC round as Volkswagen Motorsport Director and I’m very
much looking forward to working with our team in rally
racing conditions.”

Around the coastal town of Loutraki, about 80 kilometres
west of Athens, 22 special stages covering a total of 409.47
kilometres are on the agenda. The sixth WRC round of the
season is 1661.39 kilometres long including the liaison
stages.

Extreme conditions often cause surprises

The rally is particularly notorious due to its special
stages on tracks where the hard soil is often crisscrossed
by rocks. This requires not only fast but, more importantly,
intelligent driving. The driver with the highest speed or
the best car has rarely clinched victory in Greece. The
secret of success is in the right mix of speed and caution.
The Acropolis Rally includes sections in which the drivers
deliberately reduce their speed in order to protect the
tyres in particular from the stones. In case of doubt, this
costs less time than a tyre change that may be required due
to a puncture. By the way, outside the specified service
areas the drivers and co-drivers in the WRC have to change
the tyres themselves.

Consequently, a car that holds up to these demands is the
prerequisite for success. Due to the hard shocks from rocks
and stones the suspensions and the under-floor have to be
particularly robust. Plus at temperatures that typically are
far above 30 degrees Celsius and in view of the low driving
speeds the engine cooling is subjected to a special
endurance test as well.

“After successful tests with the new Polo R WRC in Spain
another WRC round is now coming up. I’m looking forward to
returning to Greece. After all, the Acropolis Rally was one
of five WRC rallies I won last year,” says the Frenchman
Sébastien Ogier. “This time, though, the run will be about
gathering as much experience and data as possible for our
WRC entry in 2013. If it produced another S2000 class
victory in the process then I’m sure nobody would mind.”

For his team mate Andreas Mikkelsen, this will be the first
run in Greece. “Therefore, it’s particularly important for
me to get to know the special stages and to gather as much
experience as possible,” says the Norwegian. Yet he is not
planning to take it easy at the event. “I’m determined to
give my best and show my potential. Consequently, I’ll try
and drive at a fast pace. Like the Rally Argentina, the
Acropolis is considered a rally that’s very rough on the
material. And with a more than 400-kilometre distance it’s
also pretty long. You’ve basically got to switch into a sort
of survival mode to keep from overtaxing the car.”